We left chilly New York on April 12, 2013 to arrive in cold, cold Boston, with sheets of icy rain and gusty winds splattering the water hard all over the streets.
Due to the rain and we were told traffic (seriously, at 12:00 noon, in Boston?), it took more than half an hour to get a taxi to take us to the Hynes Convention Center where I was to volunteer with the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) for this marathon.
This was the 117th marathon for Boston, reputedly the world's oldest running marathon. There were more than 21,000 runners from all over the world signed up, plus 2,400 runners who deferred from 2012 due to the excessive heat last year.
The Hynes Convention Center was a busy beehive of exhibitors, runners and volunteers. The gates for the runners to pick up their bib numbers were supposed to open at 2:00 pm, and by 1:30 when we got to the center, there was a wrap-around of runners standing, sprawling, lazing on line in the corridors.
My assignment was to have been the numbers and t-shirt pickup for the 5K runners, but someone from the BAA directed me to the counter for the 32K mens' medium t-shirts. Before the doors opened, we were warned that the line was getting very long and we were going to be "hammered" by the waiting runners.
This is an example of tables full of bags, extra small, medium, large, extra large. Separate tables for men and women. Behind the tables, curtained off, were giant boxes full of these assemble bags. As a space on the table cleared, volunteers behind us would dip into the boxes and fill up again. A volunteer said it took 300 volunteers working two full days to assemble the bags in a big warehouse of one of the sponsors, the Gentle Giant Moving Company.
After picking up their bib numbers, runners' next stop would be to pick the bags containing t-shirts and other goodies from various sponsors. The t-shirt sponsor this year is Adidas. Blue and sunny yellow were the theme color. The runners were happy that they were able to exchange their shirts if they were unhappy with the size which does not happen in other races. You live with what you get.
The bib numbers had the runner's name and country. So we would chat them up and wish them good luck with their run. Several runners did give thanks for the volunteer work. One said that the marathon would have been hobbled without volunteers. Which would be the truth. It was a very pleasant seven hours of distributing the shirts and making small-talk, seven hours of which I would do again in a heartbeat. Some runners came with their family, children, girlfriends.
In between, the volunteers took turns going into the exhibitors' booths which would have displays of various products of the exhibitors and other companies who wished to promote their products. As one runner commented, this was one exhibit which had a lot of giveaways. Even Kahlua had a bus converted into a booth. After showing a picture ID and getting stamped, one could go up to the booth and have a shot of Kahlua. The Kahlua with root beer was delicious.
The BAA would also pass around snacks of fruit, cookies, chip and water to the volunteers. It was a very congenial, cheerful workplace!
Although I only volunteered for one day, the activities in the Convention Center went on for three days.
On Saturday and Sunday, we took the Old Town Trolley tour, which gave us two days of getting on and off the tour sites of Boston, including a harbor cruise and a visit to the USS Constitution.
Our guide on the first day was Mata Jones, excellent guide who belted out an old Neapolitan ditty "Funiculi, Funicula" in Italian. Her voice was so powerful that we all woke up and took note of her tour. She told me that in another life, she used to be a professional singer in Europe for 23 years. She also gave a rendition of Etta James. Whew!!! Just in case, here is a link to her site: http://www.facebook.com/ElaineMataJones
The various guides showed sights of Boston, such as the swing bridge between the North End and Charlestown areas which was designed by MIT students and the MIT buildings. MIT was very highly spoken of by all the guides. A shout out to Meaghan O'Neil, MIT biotech and running in this marathon. Meaghan did make it to the finish after being re-routed.
We also met up with friends made from prior marathons -- Jungfrau and Medoc, and with whom we have kept in touch through the years -- Vincent and Manuela van Ulzen.
Vince had good running time, but did not finish due to dehydration. Manuela was 100 meters from the explosion, was re-routed and finished.
Since Ed was not running, on marathon day, Patriot's Day in Massachusetts, we were set to travel back to New York. As our train was not till 11:00 am, we took a last pass at the city, taking in the preparation for the race, and walked along Boylston and Copley Square to get to South Station from the Convention Center.
It was a calm, beautiful sunny day. Streets were full of folks in yellow Adidas jackets, children and families having great fun and that early, the streets were already lined up with chairs for the bystanders lucky enough to secure spaces by the barricades. The atmosphere was festive and peaceful.
Fire engines were on standby, some streets were blocked off, in one street, at least seven of ambulances were on the ready, stretchers, wheelchairs, and all the equipment for emergencies were on the side.
Who would have known, all these would be used? Who could have known?
The explosions happened approximately when our train from Boston was entering Penn Station. We were unaware. On boarding the LIRR to Merrick, my cell phone was jumping out of its skin with messages, texted and e-mailed. One e-mail asked if we were out of the explosion site. I asked a fellow LIRR passenger if New York had just experienced an explosion and was shocked that Boston was rocked.
What a crying shame. Who would have known that some people feared joy. Feared joy so much that they would go to any means to ensure that other people would be unhappy or die.
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